What I read & recommend: February 2026

WHAT I RECOMMEND

Total Read count: 15 Books

Recommend: 12 Books

Couldn’t recommend: 3 BookS

The first half is all the books I read & recommend.

The second half are books I started reading / read but do not think highly enough of to recommend (although some I had to finish simply because I got too invested in what was happening and needed to know the ending).

No book links because I thoroughly encourage you to use a library or a local, independent bookseller and absolutely by all means possible, avoid Indigo/Chapters, and Amazon.

If you need one that delivers in Canada, I very much like McNally Robinson. They can order any book you like.

Finding Grace: Loretta Rothschild

SPOUSE AND CHILD DEATH – LOSS – YOUNG WIDOWER – IVF – COMPLICATED LOVE

Trigger warning: Death of a spouse and child
This book… shocked me. I am sorry. I have to give a TW for this because I didn’t expect it and my heart shattered without being prepared for it. I obviously couldn’t help but think of my own life, how I would feel, what I would do, and this book thankfully had a good, solid ending (I could have used an epilogue, because I am that kind of a reader), but it is absolutely spectacular. I couldn’t put it down.

The Life of Stuff: Susannah Walker

TRUE – MEMOIR – UNLOVED CHILD – COMPLICATED FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS – HOARDING – DISEASE – AFTER DEATH CLEANUP

Trigger warning: Abandonment / disinterest in your own child / lack of parenting
I was so sad to read about her life, and her life as a child, then going back into her family history of what has happened. It made me really think about what we would leave behind if we left the earth, and it made me REALLY REALLY want to declutter and clean my entire home from top to bottom. I would not wish this kind of mess on any of my loved ones once I pass.

All the way to the river: Elizabeth Gilbert

TRUE – MEMOIR – ADDICTION – DRUGS – LOVE BOMBING – RAW

A heart wrenching book about addiction, her addiction (Gilbert’s) and her partner’s. It made me sort of feel in a way, what it is like to live with an addict, to be an addict, without actually having to do it. The power and beauty of books is that you can experience all of it without having to do it IRL. I found this book difficult to read at times because it is so … raw. But once I started a page, I couldn’t stop and just devoured the entire thing in a few days. Gilbert is a gifted storyteller.. she can make any topic interesting, peppered with anecdotes and interesting twists and turns.

The Girl in the Green Dress: Mariah Fredericks

MYSTERY – ZELDA FITZGERALD – REPORTER – INVESTIGATION

A fun, quick mystery featuring Zelda Fitzgerald, known to be the actual brains behind her husband Scott’s books (typical, innit? The Matilda Effect, applied to authors). It was a fun read, I hope Fredericks comes up with more mysteries and ideas. It is just a book of a reporter investigating a death, that is it.

 

The Last Devil to Die: Richard Osman

The Impossible Fortune: Richard Osman

MYSTERY – BRITISH WIT – DRY HUMOUR – SENIORS – HEARTWARMING

This series is amazing. If you have not read his mysteries, please start. It features a group of senior citizens, one of whom was a former MI6 agent, and frankly, I am loving their sass and general dry English with. The writing is superlative and engaging, without being too serious or full of itself. I laughed out loud in a number of sections. Please note, The Last Devil to Die goes into quite deep detail about dementia and how it affects loved ones, which was a surprising twist to his series (he typically doesn’t go this deep) but a very welcome one because it cracked open the curtain for me, on what dementia really means.

WIld Card: Elsie Silver

CHICKLIT – CHILD YOU NEVER KNEW YOU HAD – COMPLICATED FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS – MISSED SIGNALS

A surprising chicklit that I enjoyed. I should have known, Silver is a great writer who doesn’t focus on the regurgitated tripe that many chicklit books employ, and instead, is a wonderful read from both perspectives of a budding new relationship which I very much enjoy. I like knowing what all the characters are thinking, not just the main ones.

City of Girls: Elizabeth Gilbert

1920s NEW YORK CITY – THEATRE FOLK – FINDING YOUR INDEPENDENCE – WHAT LOVE MEANS

A wonderful tale of a young girl coming into her own in the big city of New York City. It starts off lively and fun, and then turns into a tale going into the beginning of World War II.. It is an interesting, heartbreaking tale of this girl, the people around her, what love looks like, what betrayal really means and friendships, while at the end, talking about forgiveness and grace. Quite a nice read.

Lies and Weddings: Kevin Kwan

SUBSEQUENT BOOK to CRAZY RICH ASIANS TRILOGY – SNOBBERY – FOLLOWING YOUR HEART – SOCIETY CLIMBERS

I feel like Kwan can do no wrong. His books are always so funny, outrageous and full of interesting descriptions (he knows what we want when you describe an outfit), and his clever weaving of the story whereby everything comes up daisies in the end (with a lot of emotional, family heartbreak of course) is always on point.

This is a book that comes AFTER his wonderful Trilogy that started with Crazy Rich Asians.

The Lady in Glass and Other Stories: Anne Bishop

SHORT STORIES – DARK FANTASY – UNNERVING

I adore Bishop. She is one of my all-time favourite dark fantasy authors. I had to skip a few of her stories in this compendium because I cannot handle reading about any more s*xual abuse especially against children, and I feel rather sick, even though I know it is fiction.. it is clearly not worse than reality, if today’s headlines are anything to go by. At any rate, a fun read more or less, not necessarily based only in the worlds she has created (Dark Jewels, The Others, etc..) but also other fun fictional pieces.

Wives like Us: Plum Sykes

DRY WIT – BRITS MEET AN AMERICAN – TROPHY WIVES – RELATIONSHIPS

How can I describe this book? Think.. Desperate Housewives meets Marian Keyes meets Kevin Kwan. It is a feel good story, rather fun in its descriptions of what everyone was wearing (always important), and a wonderful dive into the lives of stay at home parents. I found the stories fun, lighthearted to read, and it made me eager to read more from this author. It follows the introduction of an American who happens to inherit one of the most prestigious, oldest estates in this little part of England, and everyone is dying to know who this filthy rich person is, so they can come over and see the estate, and become her friend.

Heir Apparent: Rebecca Armitage

BRITISH MONARCHY BEHIND THE SCENES – FOLLOWING DUTY OR YOUR HEART – FINDING YOURSELF

Instead of being a cloying Princess Diaries kind of vibe, this one was serious and VERY obviously tied to the current Royal Family of the U.K., exposing the dirty back dealings of the ones behind the scenes, and how difficult and stressful it is to be in such a weird position. Kind of makes you realize why Harry gave up the whole working royal business. Anyway, an excellent book, a nice, sweet love story and most of all, a real page turner.

Want more book recommendations?

All of my previous book recommendations are here.

If you’re lazy like me, here are my YEARLY book roundups from each year.

DO NOT READ

The Blue Hour: Paula Hawkins

I tried. After chapter one, I gave up and moved on.

Book People: Jackie Ashenden

I gave this one 5 chapters before I gave it up. It was just too … cloying. I was bored with the characters – always the deep, dark brooding mean male love interest with the kooky, more whimsical, flighty female character, and they can’t stop being obsessed with each other. Ick.

Grownups: Marian Keyes

The characters annoyed me. I just couldn’t connect so I didn’t continue with the book.